We're having one of those days that reminds us that the rest of the country is barrelling into a new season of falling leave, acorns, falling temps, breezy afternoons spent with a hot mug of something, while wearing a sweater. This is Ike's legacy. We excitedly anticipated the worst - 10 inches of rain! Flooding! Hooray! That's the twisted desires of drought-plagued texans on the central plain. What we got was a bit of a breeze, some cloudy days... and about 2 hours of rain one night. Oh yeah, and a bazillion evacuees in shelters of all kinds who need our help. So there are some people suffering, but no one benefitted from Ike's rains. I think Chicago got more rain from Ike than we did. However, it did bring us a cold front.
As I write this, it is nearly noon and has yet to get above 70 degrees. WOW. Just a few days ago, at the same time, it would have been nearly 100 degrees and climbing.
I've seen lots of gekos, and there are toads living in the cracks in our yard. We had a few weeks when the preying mantis was ubiquitous, but they are gone. We spotted a huge, hanging, spider egg sack in the eaves, but I haven't checked on it in a while.
Phoebe is six weeks old and a pound-plus bigger and heavier than where we started. Even Charley, my 80lb-jackhammer-wielding, muscle-bound hunk of a husband has started to complain about carrying the car seat to and fro. I pulled out the stroller today, so that we can more easily pop her plastic bucket on to it and wheel it around, although I usually end up wearing her in a sling during most shopping trips and outings so we can discreetly nurse. The sling is, as my friend Asenath so eloquently puts it, "a real cheese-saver". Thank you, oh sling, for saving our cheese! We would be lost without you, and no laundry would get done, or people fed, or groceries purchased. I am getting more and more done everyday, even cooking whole meals and getting a shower now and then. This time away from work to be with her has been so wonderful. We spend days staring at eachother and cuddling. What could be better? It goes so fast, as everyone will tell you. I have many new perspectives on time and its passing these days.
So today, one more glorious day of time to spend with my wee precious girl, is just like fall up north. It won't last long - I am finally convinced of that. I spent the first four years living in Texas packing up all my tank tops and shorts at the first cold front, pulling out sweaters and jeans, only to reverse the situation a few days later, when it hit 99 degrees again and stayed that way through october. I have a sweater I leave at the bottom of a drawer, now. I'll pull it out, wear it all day - even tomorrow in the morning. When it warms up again, I can slip into my favorite summer dress and tuck the sweater away in its drawer, to wait for our next single fall-like day.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
It's a girl!
Phoebe Josephine Savvas was born into our lives on 7-31-08 at 3:57 pm. She weighed 9lbs, 4 oz and is 20 inches long. She has brown eyes and lots of hair, and we have confirmed that it isn't just us - she's completely adorable (and terribly smart, to be sure). She is very sweet, and is doing very well. I have been tired, but am recovering, and feeling much better each day. Labor was a long road - 48 hours and 2 and a half of pushing, holy crap! The hardest part of a 48 hour labor is that even though the first 12 hours weren't that hard to cope with, I couldn't sleep or eat much in that time, which made the duration a bit harder. However, I am very proud of myself for hanging in there, and grateful to the entire team of midwives, and especially my stellar husband, Charley, for their support, which made all the difference. Phoebe was born at home, and it reconfirmed what a special and wonderful thing that is - and the entire team can take credit for the accomplishment.
We are having wonderfully relaxing days cuddling and getting all the stuff accomplished in the process of caring for a new baby. It is rediculously true that it took both of us to clean up her first poop and put a new diaper on her! We are having a blast. Cheers! I'm sure I'll come up with a more detailed birthstory soon.
It continues to be blasting hot and very dry, so for the most part, we are content to snuggle in our colorful little cave of a house. I noticed there was a lot of life up and about the property the evening I went into labor - a wasp dragging a drugged spider victim to its lair, a flock of dragonflies, a pair of sulphur butterflies, lots of gekos up and about, even a rattlesnake! We haven't seen that much action lately with the hot dry weather. More soon!
We are having wonderfully relaxing days cuddling and getting all the stuff accomplished in the process of caring for a new baby. It is rediculously true that it took both of us to clean up her first poop and put a new diaper on her! We are having a blast. Cheers! I'm sure I'll come up with a more detailed birthstory soon.
It continues to be blasting hot and very dry, so for the most part, we are content to snuggle in our colorful little cave of a house. I noticed there was a lot of life up and about the property the evening I went into labor - a wasp dragging a drugged spider victim to its lair, a flock of dragonflies, a pair of sulphur butterflies, lots of gekos up and about, even a rattlesnake! We haven't seen that much action lately with the hot dry weather. More soon!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Cactus Blooms
The cactus bloomed! It opened in the night, a few nights ago. The flower is closed now, but still attached to the cactus for the time being. It is looking withered and droopy. We did get some pictures of it right after it bloomed, though! How very exciting! There are more on the flickr page.
I'm winding down my obligations at work, to take my maternity leave. I have about a half day of work later this week, and a small work party to attend for a fellow mom-to-be, and then next week I don't go to work at all! I'm set to receive a home visit from the midwife today, which should tell me a bit more about where we're at in regard to when the wee one will make its appearance. So far, the conclusion is 2 - 3 more weeks. I'm feeling great, and the house is ready - even more ready than I had hoped (yay Charley!!!). I only need to live a life of luxury for the next 14-21 days - this is my only job. I plan to nap, walk, swim, do yoga, cook yummy food, run a few last minute errands, read books, enjoy the casa, and begin slowing down. Since Charley has work for about the next two weeks (we just found out the other day) we won't be hanging out together much during the day, but he's really excited about this job and he'll be there when I need him. I don't think I'm approaching this time as tapping-my-fingers-waiting as many people suggest, although, of course, I am very excited to get the the grand finale of baby-on-the-outside.
Today is Charley's birthday, and I'm going to make cupcakes to share with some friends. We started the day off with some rain! Hooray! It is humid, but quite cool outside, with the possibility of more rain on the way.
This weekend we will celebrate summer with our friends at the annual Pond Party - probably one of my last major social functions of the summer. We're also planning a brunch wtih Becky and Rachel to celebrate all the July birthdays. Charley and I are definately taking this time to enjoy some things we won't really be getting to for a few weeks once the baby is born - namely, movies. We saw Hellboy 2 the other night, and I was diggin' it! I'm excited to see Mr. Del Toro's version of The Hobbit. I think the only other worthy director might have been M. Night Shalaman, but Del Toro is a good fit. ( I hope! ) We also saw Get Smart last week, which was amusing, but not as funny as you know Steve Carell can be. I hope they don't try to turn him into a Steve Martin - Carell is funny with all the lampooning.
The blog got a facelift... what do you think? I hope that the links (which are now to the right) are easier to use. I have pared them down to things I check often, if not daily, and suggest you do the same.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thrifty and a flower
I think by now you know, I really love craigslist and goodwill. I love buying something most of all that has no packaging. I love knowing that resources weren't used to make this just FOR ME. Especially baby stuff that gets used only for a few months and then becomes worthless. I love a bargain, no foolin'. We've purchased most of our furniture from estate sales are incredibly happy with the quality of older furniture, for *much* less than the price of new stuff. We have other priorities for our money - particularly travel and our child. Don't get me wrong though, we have some really beautiful stuff. This attitude has grown in me, especially since meeting Charley, who is the most recycling person I know - he recycles buildings, for goodness sake! If something can be fixed, it should be - not replaced. He goes to great lengths to fix instead of replace, and has suprised me by fixing things I thought were disposable. And he has a very strong inner junk man. I swear, he would be a regular junk dealer if I wasn't around to say "please don't buy another foreclosed storage space at auction just for the fun of what you might find"
However, I am learning a lot about the economy of reselling babystuff on craigslist lately. What astonishes me are the people who try to resell their used babystuff - albeit in very gently used condition - for 90% of the retail they paid for it. I think what happens is that over zealous consumers buy all the stuff they think they need to keep a baby happy, use half of it for about 20 minutes, and then feel ripped off. AND THEN they expect you - or some hapless second hand buyer - to help them recoup the money they spent on all of this frivolous crap they ended up with. I routinely offer less than what people are asking for on craigslist. (uh oh, giving away my secrets!) Let's face it - used babystuff isn't rare, and therefore can't really command a blood price. Most of the stuff I'm only willing to spend what I offer them, or I'll go without it because its quite frivolous stuff, anyway. What really gets me is the people who WHINE back at you. Real quote: "It really hurts to get so little for these after I paid so much for them!" I am sorely tempted to respond by asking who forced them to purchase brand new, expensive, frivolous, extra convienient items for their baby, and when, exactly, did I become responsible for helping them recoup the money they spent on said stuff? But, I usually do restrain myself (suprised?) in order to not quash a potential deal. I really think these people ought to start being more realistic - who wants to pay more than 50% of the cost of something new to get something used? I don't. But most of all, I don't want them to whine at me, because I'm not really feeling it. I lack the drive for brand shiny new stuff, and I lack sympathy for your overzealous consumption. ouch. Maybe I am a bit harsh - but - overall, I estimate that we've saved about $2000 on "essentials" and ended up with some extra fun stuff for really cheap. I love it! Yay me!
Now that my rant is over, I can get to the news from the ranch. We've had some good days of rain, thankfully. We're still down for the year, but every drop helps. It is still quite hot, but we're experiencing more managable high 90's than low 100's - and trust me, there is a big difference. Still not much life to speak of - the major change noted around here is the mesquite trees have popped out with millions of pods filled with seeds hanging heavy on the trees, and each rain storm fells more and more of them to the ground. Mesquite can eventually make for some nice trees, but is considered for the most part, a scourge. The small trees are spiny and insidious - a three inch tall sprout can have three times as large a root system anchoring it down below. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. The worst part is the little buggers pop your tires and gouge your feet - and if allowed to take hold, require blood, sweat, and tears to remove. We rely on several of the damned things for shade for our house at this point, while we await some friendlier trees to grow to shade-giving proportions. They do a good job, and they are pretty - feathery leaves that stay green in the most Texas-like heat and drought conditions. But we sure do grumble about those pods, and they havoc they wreak.
The good news is that one of our large cactus - oh I forget the name of it now, but it is a pretty standard upright log of a cactus - is about to bloom. It has put off a large, hairy projection that has grown incredibly over the last 4 days. I suppose it would measure around 7 inches long, about 2 - 3 inches in diameter where the flower will open. The last time it bloomed, I procrastinated and missed photographing the glorious florescence completely. The flower is ginormous and has a strong purfume - for about 24 hours. Such an amazing thing, and it lasts for the blnk of an eye. This time, we're determined to document it. So stay tuned...
However, I am learning a lot about the economy of reselling babystuff on craigslist lately. What astonishes me are the people who try to resell their used babystuff - albeit in very gently used condition - for 90% of the retail they paid for it. I think what happens is that over zealous consumers buy all the stuff they think they need to keep a baby happy, use half of it for about 20 minutes, and then feel ripped off. AND THEN they expect you - or some hapless second hand buyer - to help them recoup the money they spent on all of this frivolous crap they ended up with. I routinely offer less than what people are asking for on craigslist. (uh oh, giving away my secrets!) Let's face it - used babystuff isn't rare, and therefore can't really command a blood price. Most of the stuff I'm only willing to spend what I offer them, or I'll go without it because its quite frivolous stuff, anyway. What really gets me is the people who WHINE back at you. Real quote: "It really hurts to get so little for these after I paid so much for them!" I am sorely tempted to respond by asking who forced them to purchase brand new, expensive, frivolous, extra convienient items for their baby, and when, exactly, did I become responsible for helping them recoup the money they spent on said stuff? But, I usually do restrain myself (suprised?) in order to not quash a potential deal. I really think these people ought to start being more realistic - who wants to pay more than 50% of the cost of something new to get something used? I don't. But most of all, I don't want them to whine at me, because I'm not really feeling it. I lack the drive for brand shiny new stuff, and I lack sympathy for your overzealous consumption. ouch. Maybe I am a bit harsh - but - overall, I estimate that we've saved about $2000 on "essentials" and ended up with some extra fun stuff for really cheap. I love it! Yay me!
Now that my rant is over, I can get to the news from the ranch. We've had some good days of rain, thankfully. We're still down for the year, but every drop helps. It is still quite hot, but we're experiencing more managable high 90's than low 100's - and trust me, there is a big difference. Still not much life to speak of - the major change noted around here is the mesquite trees have popped out with millions of pods filled with seeds hanging heavy on the trees, and each rain storm fells more and more of them to the ground. Mesquite can eventually make for some nice trees, but is considered for the most part, a scourge. The small trees are spiny and insidious - a three inch tall sprout can have three times as large a root system anchoring it down below. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. The worst part is the little buggers pop your tires and gouge your feet - and if allowed to take hold, require blood, sweat, and tears to remove. We rely on several of the damned things for shade for our house at this point, while we await some friendlier trees to grow to shade-giving proportions. They do a good job, and they are pretty - feathery leaves that stay green in the most Texas-like heat and drought conditions. But we sure do grumble about those pods, and they havoc they wreak.
The good news is that one of our large cactus - oh I forget the name of it now, but it is a pretty standard upright log of a cactus - is about to bloom. It has put off a large, hairy projection that has grown incredibly over the last 4 days. I suppose it would measure around 7 inches long, about 2 - 3 inches in diameter where the flower will open. The last time it bloomed, I procrastinated and missed photographing the glorious florescence completely. The flower is ginormous and has a strong purfume - for about 24 hours. Such an amazing thing, and it lasts for the blnk of an eye. This time, we're determined to document it. So stay tuned...
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Some rain and our amazing friends
We have had several short bursts of rain from isolated showers moving through the region. Not enough to quench the thirsty, cracked earth, but enough to perk the trees up a little bit. However, it is at hot as heck as ever, but that's Texas for you. Charley and I have been swimming more lately, and I've even joined him on the morning walk to the corner store in Lytton Springs to visit our friend Pricilla. She took the weekend off, so we just visited with the regular locals and Robert, the guy who works at the store when Pricilla doesn't. There is a wierd coccoon of some type attached to one of our agaves - it looks like a mass of leaves, dirt, twigs stuck together - somehow. We are just waiting to see what will come out. The image is above.
We have these amazing friends who are real explorers - Matt Oliphant and Nancy Pistole. They travel the world exploring caves, and are good friends of Charley's and more recently mine as well. They are currently in Gabon with National Geographic, to explore the rainforest caves and help get them documented as a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can check them out at the blog http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/gabon-caves
Their description of the food in Ghana, where they stopped on their way to Gabon, included the words "gorilla snot, oily soup, organs, chewy mass" . Sometimes they do suffer gastrointestinally to do the amazing things they do.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Stove Triumph!
The new stove is installed, and it does not create a sooty mess on the bottom of our pans! The oven is working, it even burns a few degrees cooler than where you set it. The old stove has been removed, but was not wanted by the first interested party afterall, so it sits. We won't let it sit for long - it's off to the local junk man, Willie, this weekend if it is still around.
Once, we were visiting Willie at his rusted and mangled compound of ... well, junk. We were asking him what we could and couldn't bring to him, what he might find useful. He can take most anything, pick it apart, and sell the metal and scrap what not to make a living. Charley kept asking him what kind of stuff he didn't want, because "we don't want to just bring you junk" To which Willie replied "Junk? I like junk." That solves that problem. I guess he didn't want us passing judgement on something as junk that he might actually find useful, even if just to further decorate his yard.
Anyway, hooray for the stove! I want to bake some cupcakes in celebration, just in time for Charley's birthday coming up in a few weeks. It's a big one - 5-0!
Once, we were visiting Willie at his rusted and mangled compound of ... well, junk. We were asking him what we could and couldn't bring to him, what he might find useful. He can take most anything, pick it apart, and sell the metal and scrap what not to make a living. Charley kept asking him what kind of stuff he didn't want, because "we don't want to just bring you junk" To which Willie replied "Junk? I like junk." That solves that problem. I guess he didn't want us passing judgement on something as junk that he might actually find useful, even if just to further decorate his yard.
Anyway, hooray for the stove! I want to bake some cupcakes in celebration, just in time for Charley's birthday coming up in a few weeks. It's a big one - 5-0!
Monday, June 30, 2008
No Rain, But a Stove
We thought we might get some rain at the house yesterday, but no dice, even though we drove through a pretty good shower in Northwest Austin at the end of our long but relaxing day. Charley and I spent the day with Becky and Rachel. We had an impromptu pot luck lunch with them, and Rachel's friend Gail.
One of the assignments from our midwife, to accomplish before the birth, included wrapping some items up in brown paper bags (sheets, blankies to dry the baby with, towels and washcloths etc) and cooking them in the oven with steam on low heat to sterilize them. One of the reasons we purchased our oven a few months back was in anticipation of this proceedure. However, our oven, while it does technically *work* by always heating up to a cozy 600 degrees when turned onto any temp from 300 - 450, is still sooting up our pans on the stove top and continues to be a general nuisance. In this case, we decided, going vintage was against us. So we headed into town with Becky's gracious offer to use her very reliable stove to cook our 6 bags for one hour each in her oven in her house in the middle of our hot summer - a generous offer.
While the bags cooked, Charley grilled up some steak and the girls made all kinds of cheesy delish items like Potatos Au Gratin and Queso while I taste tested and put my feet up. At one point, another friend of Rachel's showed up to deliver the uneaten Penis cake from their friend's Bachelorette party the night before to our inpromptu party. It was quite yummy and didn't go uneaten in our company. Since we have found a reputable vasectomy doctor in Austin who will simplify our life once the baby is born, we have recently made an appointment with him for Charley. Get this - the doc's name is Richard Chopp, no lie. He has a very good reputation (how could you not with a name like that?) So we considered it our "V is for victory" cake, and even Charley had a piece.
While we cooked and ate and watched movies, Charley and I began discussing the stove situation, and came to the conclusion that we ought to just get another one, and ditch the old one, since it is such a nuisance. He suggested I check Craigslist one more time for an already converted LP stove, a newer model. I did, and low and behold, we found one! All the way up in Lago Vista, newer LP stove, CHEAP. We called them up and found out that it works great, they had just recently decided to switch to electric. At the end of the day, we headed up to Lago Vista, a small town like ours, but located 30 miles Northwest of Austin in the rolling green Hill Country. It was a lucky collision of events, because any other day that stove would have required us to drive 85 miles from home to fetch it, but as it was, it was a short 30 mile drive from where we already were at Rachel & Becky's house in north Austin.
We returned home with the stove, via the speedy and empty new toll roads, and it is waiting for us in the middle of the porch/kitchen to make the switch. I have posted the old stove with honest caveats about its working condition on Craigslist and have even received a bite back! So we are well on our way to having a properly working stove in place, and the old one done away with. Hooray! We absolutely love Craigslist.
On the way back, Charley mentioned that John, our favorite weather and disaster reporter, had called from his afternoon break to tell Charley there was a 50% chance of rain Sunday and Monday. That's pretty exciting news to us drought stricken Texans. On our way home at the very end of a long day we did drive through your typical Hill Country rain storm, northwest of Austin. We cheered, but as we drove further east it all dried up. Our prairie remains dusty and parched as ever, darnit.
One of the assignments from our midwife, to accomplish before the birth, included wrapping some items up in brown paper bags (sheets, blankies to dry the baby with, towels and washcloths etc) and cooking them in the oven with steam on low heat to sterilize them. One of the reasons we purchased our oven a few months back was in anticipation of this proceedure. However, our oven, while it does technically *work* by always heating up to a cozy 600 degrees when turned onto any temp from 300 - 450, is still sooting up our pans on the stove top and continues to be a general nuisance. In this case, we decided, going vintage was against us. So we headed into town with Becky's gracious offer to use her very reliable stove to cook our 6 bags for one hour each in her oven in her house in the middle of our hot summer - a generous offer.
While the bags cooked, Charley grilled up some steak and the girls made all kinds of cheesy delish items like Potatos Au Gratin and Queso while I taste tested and put my feet up. At one point, another friend of Rachel's showed up to deliver the uneaten Penis cake from their friend's Bachelorette party the night before to our inpromptu party. It was quite yummy and didn't go uneaten in our company. Since we have found a reputable vasectomy doctor in Austin who will simplify our life once the baby is born, we have recently made an appointment with him for Charley. Get this - the doc's name is Richard Chopp, no lie. He has a very good reputation (how could you not with a name like that?) So we considered it our "V is for victory" cake, and even Charley had a piece.
While we cooked and ate and watched movies, Charley and I began discussing the stove situation, and came to the conclusion that we ought to just get another one, and ditch the old one, since it is such a nuisance. He suggested I check Craigslist one more time for an already converted LP stove, a newer model. I did, and low and behold, we found one! All the way up in Lago Vista, newer LP stove, CHEAP. We called them up and found out that it works great, they had just recently decided to switch to electric. At the end of the day, we headed up to Lago Vista, a small town like ours, but located 30 miles Northwest of Austin in the rolling green Hill Country. It was a lucky collision of events, because any other day that stove would have required us to drive 85 miles from home to fetch it, but as it was, it was a short 30 mile drive from where we already were at Rachel & Becky's house in north Austin.
We returned home with the stove, via the speedy and empty new toll roads, and it is waiting for us in the middle of the porch/kitchen to make the switch. I have posted the old stove with honest caveats about its working condition on Craigslist and have even received a bite back! So we are well on our way to having a properly working stove in place, and the old one done away with. Hooray! We absolutely love Craigslist.
On the way back, Charley mentioned that John, our favorite weather and disaster reporter, had called from his afternoon break to tell Charley there was a 50% chance of rain Sunday and Monday. That's pretty exciting news to us drought stricken Texans. On our way home at the very end of a long day we did drive through your typical Hill Country rain storm, northwest of Austin. We cheered, but as we drove further east it all dried up. Our prairie remains dusty and parched as ever, darnit.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Holy Crap, is it HOT
We've had something like 20 days over 100 degrees so far this year, and it has only officially been 'Summer' for just over a week. I don't usually go outside into the heat of the day, but today after my baby shower, put on by the gals at work, I was loading stuff into my car at about 1:00. It is sweltering. The sun bakes you like cookies in an oven. It is unrelenting. Now, I live in Texas for a reason - the climate. I like a hot summer and cold river. But whew. We are in a crazy drought, I happen to have a heater like aparatus for a belly these days, and we're having record setting heat. When I was first pregnant, everyone said "due in July? Oh you're going to be sooo hot" and my (silent) reaction was "gee, you think? July in Texas? hot?" No foolin'. I likely won't have to worry about my baby catching a chill wind, but I may have to worry about it melting away, like chocolate or butter.
There is so little life around the house this year. I have seen one walking stick that looked as withered and brown and scrawny as any stick you might see around these days. The cows all huddle in the shade. But good news - I did see the buffalos out in the field the other morning, before it got too hot, and I saw all three of the babies. I had only been able to see two of them lately, and I was worried. But there they all were! Three little cinnamon fuzzy beasts, lolling on the dusty ground.
We have a piece of our lane where the roadbase has been pulverized into a fine soft powder. I have been taking particular pleasure lately in standing in the soft powdery spot, in the cooling evening when the rocks are still warm. It's right by Charley's parking spot, so as he arrives home in the evening and unloads the equipment he used that day, I can stand there, wiggling my feet around in the soft powdery dirt and chat with him. It makes me really happy, and I feel really at home. I am definately enjoying my country life. It has not been such a nice thing to do to the white rug in the house, but a little spray off with the hose never hurt anyone on a warm Texas evening. Last year, that powdery dirt was usually a mudpuddle.
I had my last baby shower today, and I must say I have wonderfully generous friends and co-workers. We have many months of diaper service gifted to us, and lots of adorable and practical baby stuff. We have everything gathered for the birth, and after a few hours of diligent oven sterilization of a few things tomorrow, we will be completely ready. I have four weeks left - two of those left at work, and then two glorious weeks of lolly gagging around, going to the pool, cooking good food, hanging out with Charley, being hot, and waiting for the wee one to make an appearance.
There is so little life around the house this year. I have seen one walking stick that looked as withered and brown and scrawny as any stick you might see around these days. The cows all huddle in the shade. But good news - I did see the buffalos out in the field the other morning, before it got too hot, and I saw all three of the babies. I had only been able to see two of them lately, and I was worried. But there they all were! Three little cinnamon fuzzy beasts, lolling on the dusty ground.
We have a piece of our lane where the roadbase has been pulverized into a fine soft powder. I have been taking particular pleasure lately in standing in the soft powdery spot, in the cooling evening when the rocks are still warm. It's right by Charley's parking spot, so as he arrives home in the evening and unloads the equipment he used that day, I can stand there, wiggling my feet around in the soft powdery dirt and chat with him. It makes me really happy, and I feel really at home. I am definately enjoying my country life. It has not been such a nice thing to do to the white rug in the house, but a little spray off with the hose never hurt anyone on a warm Texas evening. Last year, that powdery dirt was usually a mudpuddle.
I had my last baby shower today, and I must say I have wonderfully generous friends and co-workers. We have many months of diaper service gifted to us, and lots of adorable and practical baby stuff. We have everything gathered for the birth, and after a few hours of diligent oven sterilization of a few things tomorrow, we will be completely ready. I have four weeks left - two of those left at work, and then two glorious weeks of lolly gagging around, going to the pool, cooking good food, hanging out with Charley, being hot, and waiting for the wee one to make an appearance.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
new pics!
I have put the pictures of the house up on my flickr site, and some pics from the baby shower last weekend. http://www.flickr.com/photos/butterflypalacedispatch/
I tried to put them into sets, but it may or may not have worked, sorry. I'll get around to re-editing them eventually. For now, just scroll through the photostream.
Yesterday I took my mom off to the airport for her trip back home to Minneapolis - sorry to see her go! She worked her butt off to help me get ready for the baby. I wished we had more time to do more fun stuff, but it was really hot, and we had a lot of work to do - which we completely accomplished! She'll be back in August to visit us with the baby on the outside.
After her visit, I went to Denise's Tie Dye party. I took a bunch of white onesies we got, and dyed them all. It was hard work! Maybe I'll even have pictures up later, after I rinse them out and wash them. After the artwork, we ate really scrumptious tomato pie, hummus, and cookies, and swam in their pool. The swimming realy made my day, as always.
Today I get to enjoy my house and catch up on a few odds and ends. Not much going on, but I wanted to let you know about the pictures. It's really hot - I'm hiding out inside today.
I tried to put them into sets, but it may or may not have worked, sorry. I'll get around to re-editing them eventually. For now, just scroll through the photostream.
Yesterday I took my mom off to the airport for her trip back home to Minneapolis - sorry to see her go! She worked her butt off to help me get ready for the baby. I wished we had more time to do more fun stuff, but it was really hot, and we had a lot of work to do - which we completely accomplished! She'll be back in August to visit us with the baby on the outside.
After her visit, I went to Denise's Tie Dye party. I took a bunch of white onesies we got, and dyed them all. It was hard work! Maybe I'll even have pictures up later, after I rinse them out and wash them. After the artwork, we ate really scrumptious tomato pie, hummus, and cookies, and swam in their pool. The swimming realy made my day, as always.
Today I get to enjoy my house and catch up on a few odds and ends. Not much going on, but I wanted to let you know about the pictures. It's really hot - I'm hiding out inside today.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Drought
We've finally had a smattering of rain - 30 seconds here or there of a downpour, but its only enough to make it hat much more steamy. We've had unseasonably hot weather, and the winds are blowing from the southeast - gee, I love weather from the humid gulf. The sun has been unrelenting, but the clouds show some mercy and puff up by midday, shielding us from some of the worst of it. The buffalos by the hiway are usually out in the field in the morning, but by noon have taken shelter in a stand a mesquite by the now-dry streambed running through their field, and I feel greatful I'm not a huge wooly-headed beast like them. Speaking of hot wooly-headed beasts, Charley's AC in his truck went out, and he's been too busy fixing other things to fix it. I've heard it hasn't been this dry in Texas since the 1920's, but unless its a rainy year like last year, you always hear we're in a record setting drought. The news out of Iowa sounds pretty grim with all the water along the Mighty Mississip... they are suffering on the complete other end of the stick.
My mom is here, visiting from Minnesota, and we've had a busy week! I'm going to put some photos on flickr of the house in its new state - soon, I promise! - I'm just sorry now that I didn't take some 'before' pictures! My mom and I (right, mostly my mom) have cleaned the place from top to bottom. Germs and dust bunnies be damned! We hauled out 5 trash bags of garbage and 4 bags of goodwill donations. Just about every piece of furniture has been moved to a new place. However, the routing of the house did require us to give up some of that furniture, which was difficult - like prying chocolate from a pregnant lady's hand. It also forced Charley to box up approximately 200 t-shirts of his 'cool t-shirt collection'- also difficult, like... trying to pry 200 cool t-shirts from Charley's hand. Craigslist has since put some money in our pockets, introduced us to some cool folks, and rid us of the extra - However, I have refused to let go of the green velvet high-backed rocker, and insist it 'goes' in the dining room, and likewise, Charley refused to part with his torn and ugly big blue recliner, and insists it is his 'dad chair' for when he has baby duty. Even though, we now have more than a foot-wide aisle through the house to walk through! (I TOLD you we went a little crazy at last year's estate sales)Sometimes we spread our arms and legs and take giant steps through the house now, just because we can! Charley installed a beautiful pantry cabinet that we (okay, he) salvaged and refinished, and it is really great to have a place to put cans and boxes of food other than my clothes closet. My diapering station is even ready, stuffed with cloth diapers from the diaper service we'll be using. I'm feeling very settled in, and comfy in my nest. I just have a few more things to gather, and my last day of work is July 28th. I'll have a week or three to rest and be leisurely, and go swimming and take naps before the baby decides to be born.
I have noticed the vine of Texas Plums is fruiting... they look like a string of Christmas lights strung along our lane. The mandivilla vine came back to life, and will hopefully spread itself out on the lattice shading our kitchen. We have a few small figs, but the leaves of the fig tree are turning yellow and brown, even with the water we give it. Other than that, our brown scrubby grass and the enlarging hoppers are about the only life around the house showing their face.
My mom is here, visiting from Minnesota, and we've had a busy week! I'm going to put some photos on flickr of the house in its new state - soon, I promise! - I'm just sorry now that I didn't take some 'before' pictures! My mom and I (right, mostly my mom) have cleaned the place from top to bottom. Germs and dust bunnies be damned! We hauled out 5 trash bags of garbage and 4 bags of goodwill donations. Just about every piece of furniture has been moved to a new place. However, the routing of the house did require us to give up some of that furniture, which was difficult - like prying chocolate from a pregnant lady's hand. It also forced Charley to box up approximately 200 t-shirts of his 'cool t-shirt collection'- also difficult, like... trying to pry 200 cool t-shirts from Charley's hand. Craigslist has since put some money in our pockets, introduced us to some cool folks, and rid us of the extra - However, I have refused to let go of the green velvet high-backed rocker, and insist it 'goes' in the dining room, and likewise, Charley refused to part with his torn and ugly big blue recliner, and insists it is his 'dad chair' for when he has baby duty. Even though, we now have more than a foot-wide aisle through the house to walk through! (I TOLD you we went a little crazy at last year's estate sales)Sometimes we spread our arms and legs and take giant steps through the house now, just because we can! Charley installed a beautiful pantry cabinet that we (okay, he) salvaged and refinished, and it is really great to have a place to put cans and boxes of food other than my clothes closet. My diapering station is even ready, stuffed with cloth diapers from the diaper service we'll be using. I'm feeling very settled in, and comfy in my nest. I just have a few more things to gather, and my last day of work is July 28th. I'll have a week or three to rest and be leisurely, and go swimming and take naps before the baby decides to be born.
I have noticed the vine of Texas Plums is fruiting... they look like a string of Christmas lights strung along our lane. The mandivilla vine came back to life, and will hopefully spread itself out on the lattice shading our kitchen. We have a few small figs, but the leaves of the fig tree are turning yellow and brown, even with the water we give it. Other than that, our brown scrubby grass and the enlarging hoppers are about the only life around the house showing their face.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Discovery and Resumption
I have spent the morning discovering blogs by two old friends. We are far flung, but seem to have much in common. The three of us are all learning the foreign language of our husband's homeland, and are putting our houses and families together. It has also served as some blogging inspiration. Whoa, lucky for you!
Much has passed since March. I didn't mark the wildflower season much this year, but with the lack of rain there wasn't much to report. We have cracks in the clay soil you do NOT want to drop your keys down - it would take some vertical gear to retrieve them! The most prolific flower this year was the primrose, although we had a bumper crop of dewberries. I ate many of them from the yard, and Charley picked several bowlfuls for my cereal and his ice cream. We were too busy working on the house though to really harvest them, but it would have been a good year for it. We have made so much progress on the house! Charley got the whole list of stuff to be done by June 1st completed - two weeks ahead of schedule! We have a kitchen cabinet now, with doors, and a tiled backsplash (that was my project, and it turned out great!). We have an entire room devoted to being a library - and that was quite an accomplishment. It is a small room, but it needed new walls, a floor, bookshelves, and books. Charley went to the university auction and got us enough bookshelves to go wall to wall in the small room. Our friend Richard assisted with the new walls, and Charley and I installed a floor. We also unpacked what seemed like hundreds (not really) of boxes of books that have been stored for years. We moved all of my crafty stuff in to that room, and Charley is going to also make a home for his postcard collection. The library takes up most of the top floor of the two-story 10x20 foot cabin where we lived while we built our main house. The rest of the space up there is taken up with a very as-of-yet unfinished bathroom - just a toilet and a sink, and bare drywall. But having no bathtub, I could care less about that room, really. The downstairs of that building has become our shower room/movie room, since it has a shower in it... Charley revamped an old armoir that I scored (for free!) with shelves and stop chains on the doors (so they don't ruin the walls) and I filled it up with towels and other showery-bathroom stuff. That's in one corner, and the rest of that room now houses our video and dvd library (whew, we have a lot of movies. The one case we installed to hold them is NOT enough) and a TV with VHS and DVD capabilities, and our giant blue couch for lounging. We will have to play tetris with the rest of the space to see if we can't fit another chair in there.
Charley also installed a railing on the stairs that lead upstairs to our deck and the library, which is a good thing, because in my newly waddling state, the stairs were beginning to get a bit sketchy. Now I have something to hold onto. We have cleaned out LOTS of junk, and just have to rearrange the copious furniture ( we went a little crazy at the estate sales last year) in the main house to make room for baby stuff. It's all coming along. The major construction is finished, for the time being. We still have to finish that bathroom off, and finish installing our pantry cabinet in our main house, but I'm not terribly concerned about those things getting done in time for me to go into labor. The next big project is to finish our lane and parking area with road base, and put up a shade structure for the cars to park under. Then Charley gets to build his shop! He can't wait to get that started, and it is a big project, starting from the ground up - leveling, pouring a slab - all that. And when the shop is finished, we will then build an addition to the main house, with extra bedrooms and a bathroom with a real bathtub, for me! That's the three year plan, but I'm getting waaaaay ahead of myself. In the meantime I have some baby showers to attend, a visit from my mom coming up, and relaxing to do.
I noticed just the other day that there are three new baby buffalos in the field by the highway on the way into Austin. It seemed later this year, but looking back in my blog, it was just earlier this month, last year that the buffalos were born. I think it seemed earlier because even though we've actually had quite a nice spring, this year the weather has turned to summer on cue, 100 degree days by mid-may. Last year, with the rains, we had spring until June, and so at this time last year the wildflowers were just beginning to simmer down. This year, the land is much more barren, although I have seen a few beebalm flowers lately, and some brown-eyed susans. I've also seen several toads, and many large spiders. The grasshoppers are miniture right now, and the fire ants are up to their usual no good. I doubt the compost heap will volunteer a garden for us us this year, but the fig tree has figs thanks to some diligent watering Charley does. We've decided that next year will be the year we begin our garden, and start some animal husbandry. We're thinking rabbits and chickens. Charley has seen many dead snakes in the road, but none alive. We've also heard some reports of treefrogs around our place, but I have yet to see them in person. The gekos are once again enjoying the lights and screens as perfect bug-catching habitat, and we've seen a couple walking sticks on the house so far. There has been a real lack of butterflies this year, but that goes hand in hand with the lack of wildflowers. I have seen a few female swollowtails, and some hairstreaks, that always come with the vervain. The wild honeysuckle is again this year tenacious, and is about the only thing still blooming. The mesquite trees are all still very green and leafy, giving us lots of privacy, which I appreciate very much.
So that's about it. We're about two months from baby launch, which is getting more real and more exciting every day. I have quite the bump going. The heat is a challenge but Cold Texas Rivers have been my saving grace. The baby moves a LOT and that is quite the odd sensation - I haven't ever gotten used to it. We still don't know the sex - but I love when people ask "What is it?" because I can assure them it is human. I am healthy and happy, and receiving great care from my midwife. We're planning a homebirth, which is why the drive to complete some of this construction so soon. We're almost there. I'll do my best to keep you posted.
Much has passed since March. I didn't mark the wildflower season much this year, but with the lack of rain there wasn't much to report. We have cracks in the clay soil you do NOT want to drop your keys down - it would take some vertical gear to retrieve them! The most prolific flower this year was the primrose, although we had a bumper crop of dewberries. I ate many of them from the yard, and Charley picked several bowlfuls for my cereal and his ice cream. We were too busy working on the house though to really harvest them, but it would have been a good year for it. We have made so much progress on the house! Charley got the whole list of stuff to be done by June 1st completed - two weeks ahead of schedule! We have a kitchen cabinet now, with doors, and a tiled backsplash (that was my project, and it turned out great!). We have an entire room devoted to being a library - and that was quite an accomplishment. It is a small room, but it needed new walls, a floor, bookshelves, and books. Charley went to the university auction and got us enough bookshelves to go wall to wall in the small room. Our friend Richard assisted with the new walls, and Charley and I installed a floor. We also unpacked what seemed like hundreds (not really) of boxes of books that have been stored for years. We moved all of my crafty stuff in to that room, and Charley is going to also make a home for his postcard collection. The library takes up most of the top floor of the two-story 10x20 foot cabin where we lived while we built our main house. The rest of the space up there is taken up with a very as-of-yet unfinished bathroom - just a toilet and a sink, and bare drywall. But having no bathtub, I could care less about that room, really. The downstairs of that building has become our shower room/movie room, since it has a shower in it... Charley revamped an old armoir that I scored (for free!) with shelves and stop chains on the doors (so they don't ruin the walls) and I filled it up with towels and other showery-bathroom stuff. That's in one corner, and the rest of that room now houses our video and dvd library (whew, we have a lot of movies. The one case we installed to hold them is NOT enough) and a TV with VHS and DVD capabilities, and our giant blue couch for lounging. We will have to play tetris with the rest of the space to see if we can't fit another chair in there.
Charley also installed a railing on the stairs that lead upstairs to our deck and the library, which is a good thing, because in my newly waddling state, the stairs were beginning to get a bit sketchy. Now I have something to hold onto. We have cleaned out LOTS of junk, and just have to rearrange the copious furniture ( we went a little crazy at the estate sales last year) in the main house to make room for baby stuff. It's all coming along. The major construction is finished, for the time being. We still have to finish that bathroom off, and finish installing our pantry cabinet in our main house, but I'm not terribly concerned about those things getting done in time for me to go into labor. The next big project is to finish our lane and parking area with road base, and put up a shade structure for the cars to park under. Then Charley gets to build his shop! He can't wait to get that started, and it is a big project, starting from the ground up - leveling, pouring a slab - all that. And when the shop is finished, we will then build an addition to the main house, with extra bedrooms and a bathroom with a real bathtub, for me! That's the three year plan, but I'm getting waaaaay ahead of myself. In the meantime I have some baby showers to attend, a visit from my mom coming up, and relaxing to do.
I noticed just the other day that there are three new baby buffalos in the field by the highway on the way into Austin. It seemed later this year, but looking back in my blog, it was just earlier this month, last year that the buffalos were born. I think it seemed earlier because even though we've actually had quite a nice spring, this year the weather has turned to summer on cue, 100 degree days by mid-may. Last year, with the rains, we had spring until June, and so at this time last year the wildflowers were just beginning to simmer down. This year, the land is much more barren, although I have seen a few beebalm flowers lately, and some brown-eyed susans. I've also seen several toads, and many large spiders. The grasshoppers are miniture right now, and the fire ants are up to their usual no good. I doubt the compost heap will volunteer a garden for us us this year, but the fig tree has figs thanks to some diligent watering Charley does. We've decided that next year will be the year we begin our garden, and start some animal husbandry. We're thinking rabbits and chickens. Charley has seen many dead snakes in the road, but none alive. We've also heard some reports of treefrogs around our place, but I have yet to see them in person. The gekos are once again enjoying the lights and screens as perfect bug-catching habitat, and we've seen a couple walking sticks on the house so far. There has been a real lack of butterflies this year, but that goes hand in hand with the lack of wildflowers. I have seen a few female swollowtails, and some hairstreaks, that always come with the vervain. The wild honeysuckle is again this year tenacious, and is about the only thing still blooming. The mesquite trees are all still very green and leafy, giving us lots of privacy, which I appreciate very much.
So that's about it. We're about two months from baby launch, which is getting more real and more exciting every day. I have quite the bump going. The heat is a challenge but Cold Texas Rivers have been my saving grace. The baby moves a LOT and that is quite the odd sensation - I haven't ever gotten used to it. We still don't know the sex - but I love when people ask "What is it?" because I can assure them it is human. I am healthy and happy, and receiving great care from my midwife. We're planning a homebirth, which is why the drive to complete some of this construction so soon. We're almost there. I'll do my best to keep you posted.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
It Gets Better
Today: running hot water in the sink! We received our brand new Takagai TK-JR tankless waterheater today, and just after the pancake breakfast, Charley and Phillip installed it. Hot water in the sink! We all washed our hands in celebration. A couple more trips to the hardwear store later, we will also have the washer hooked up and the vent installed. We are waiting on a kit to transform the dryer from a natural gas to LP-run dryer. Our local propane service charges $65 for the kit, but Charley found it for $12 on the internet, so we're waiting on one more shipment.
I baked some cupcakes in the oven today, and cooked lunch. The oven runs hot, and the burners are burning with some yellow/orange flame. We're quite sure that the flame should be all blue, so we have a few small kinks to work out, but for the most part we're up and running with a mostly-finished kitchen. Possibly tomorrow the cabinets will be installed, but that's a big job and may take more than one day.
The pancake breakfast was a hoot. We met a few people, and made sure to visit our friend Pricilla at the general store. She had to work during the breakfast, which was across the street from the store. She had the wood burning stove going in the chilly morning, so it was nice to hang out with her for a bit before ducking in for sausage and bacon and hot cakes. A couple of the masons made an attempt to recruit Charley for the Masons - even gave him a tour of their temple. I think he told them that he's all ready to join once they get the bonfire and the goat sacrifice and the dancing girls ready. They laughed nervously and assured him their organization was not pagan or atheist. I guess that means Charley won't be flipping pancakes next year!!! Besides that minor social gaffe, everyone was quite delightful and we always enjoy meeting the people in our small and scattered community. We shopped the garage sale, and made out with a collapsable clothes drying rack and a pizza pan.
I'm serving as the Team Leader of the Box Office Crew at the Old Settlers Music Festival in a couple of weeks, so I've been spending some time on the computer reading and readying documents for our volunteer training meeting tomorrow. I still need three volunteers - locals? anyone interested? It's a good ole time.
The guys have been working hard all day, and we're going to sit back with a big homey steak dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow we can all take the day off and catch a movie. The baby has been hiccuping and dancing on my bladder more and more, which is a very distracting sensation. Happy weekend to you!
I baked some cupcakes in the oven today, and cooked lunch. The oven runs hot, and the burners are burning with some yellow/orange flame. We're quite sure that the flame should be all blue, so we have a few small kinks to work out, but for the most part we're up and running with a mostly-finished kitchen. Possibly tomorrow the cabinets will be installed, but that's a big job and may take more than one day.
The pancake breakfast was a hoot. We met a few people, and made sure to visit our friend Pricilla at the general store. She had to work during the breakfast, which was across the street from the store. She had the wood burning stove going in the chilly morning, so it was nice to hang out with her for a bit before ducking in for sausage and bacon and hot cakes. A couple of the masons made an attempt to recruit Charley for the Masons - even gave him a tour of their temple. I think he told them that he's all ready to join once they get the bonfire and the goat sacrifice and the dancing girls ready. They laughed nervously and assured him their organization was not pagan or atheist. I guess that means Charley won't be flipping pancakes next year!!! Besides that minor social gaffe, everyone was quite delightful and we always enjoy meeting the people in our small and scattered community. We shopped the garage sale, and made out with a collapsable clothes drying rack and a pizza pan.
I'm serving as the Team Leader of the Box Office Crew at the Old Settlers Music Festival in a couple of weeks, so I've been spending some time on the computer reading and readying documents for our volunteer training meeting tomorrow. I still need three volunteers - locals? anyone interested? It's a good ole time.
The guys have been working hard all day, and we're going to sit back with a big homey steak dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow we can all take the day off and catch a movie. The baby has been hiccuping and dancing on my bladder more and more, which is a very distracting sensation. Happy weekend to you!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Can it get any better?
Today: Diaper service decision triumph, new Raconteurs album downloaded, and LP in tank and stove in kitchen fully functional! Plus it is Friday. Tomorrow morning we get to enjoy the Lytton Springs Pancake Breakfast at the local Masonic Lodge. The breakfast benefits a fund for scholarships for Lytton Springs Seniors, and will be a great place to meet more local friends. Our friend Phillip may come by this weekend as well, and we will continue work on our kitchen. What a great day!
Monday, March 24, 2008
I Go Out Walkin'
I had a very eventful walk tonight. I saw many wildflowers out and about in Lytton Springs, even a new flower I hadn't seen before and now must identify. There are bluebonnets blooming, but not along the stretch of road that I was walking. All of the blue that I saw was in the form of Bud Light cans. Somebody who drives home on 1854 each night LOVES a Bud Light for the drive home, and seeds the roadsides with their empties. Otherwise it was the usual suspects - vervain, broom, paintbrush, crow poison, dewberries, evening primrose. And a few I didn't expect - wild honey suckle and a small purple bell flower I have yet to identify. I even ran into an old friend- Scoop, the stray kitty who visited the farm late last year. She's filthy dirty, has ditched the undignified collar, and looked a bit thinner than before. But she was crazy for the love, as usual. She stayed in the field across the street where I found her. It was a beautiful evening, cool and gently breezy.I was careful to avoid ant mounds, but it was easy because most of the roadsides had been recently mowed. There were no loose country dogs to scare the bejesus out of me - only fenced barkers. Even a turkey! I stopped several times to admire the huge oak trees growing twisted and massive along my path. I saw a cardinal, and stopped to listen to it twitter. There were solemn cows and horses with their necks bent, intent on the freshly sprouting green food at their feet. I walked home as the sun set on the prairie.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Bon Voyage
Well, after a long hiatus of doing exactly who knows what, besides updating my blog, I have just a few notes. I saw my first patch of bluebonnets on Thursday, February 28th. I saw several more on Friday and Saturday. "That is too early for Bluebonnets!!" as my friend Vico said. We have had a mild end of winter, but little rain, albeit some lately. I do think that my interest in blogging reflects the observable life - greenery, flora, and critters - around the house and out here in the country. It has been fairly brown and quiet for quite some time now, with only a few crow poison flowers and some sow thistle here and there. The first thing I noticed, earlier in the month of Feb, were the proliferation of wild geranium leaves, but no blooms yet. Ah, and I did find some creeping charlie - a favorite weed from childhood that was always being eradicated from the strawberry patch and the yard, more persistent even then dandilions, it seemed to me. And the name cracks me up now, since my husband shares it, but he is not creepy or creeping in anyway.
I am headed off on a week long caribbean cruise tomorrow, and I am all kinds of excited about it, as you might imagine. We stop in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. It all sounds very exotic and luxurious, something I can use a dose of. We're calling it our Babymoon, which is what you take when you never really took a honeymoon, and you are now having a baby. We are due at the end of July. You may have also noticed the floating baby at the top of the page, it mirrors the development of the peanut inside me. My tummy is sticking out and I have all of the glamourous symptoms of pregnancy at some point in recent history. I always knew that babies took over your life, but who knew that they did it at 9 weeks gestation? I do, now.
So we're off on one adventure after another, and it will all unfold over the spring and summer, along with the buzz of life out here on the farm. Don't expect to hear from me for a while, I'll be sipping (ironically called) Virgin Daquiries and lounging on white sugar sand beaches and dipping my toes in aqua clear waters.
I am headed off on a week long caribbean cruise tomorrow, and I am all kinds of excited about it, as you might imagine. We stop in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. It all sounds very exotic and luxurious, something I can use a dose of. We're calling it our Babymoon, which is what you take when you never really took a honeymoon, and you are now having a baby. We are due at the end of July. You may have also noticed the floating baby at the top of the page, it mirrors the development of the peanut inside me. My tummy is sticking out and I have all of the glamourous symptoms of pregnancy at some point in recent history. I always knew that babies took over your life, but who knew that they did it at 9 weeks gestation? I do, now.
So we're off on one adventure after another, and it will all unfold over the spring and summer, along with the buzz of life out here on the farm. Don't expect to hear from me for a while, I'll be sipping (ironically called) Virgin Daquiries and lounging on white sugar sand beaches and dipping my toes in aqua clear waters.
Friday, November 16, 2007
New Kid on the Farm
There is a new kitty hanging out at the farm. She's a petite white kitty with a grey ringtail and splashes of dark grey on her ears, but her most striking trait is her eyes. The right eye is brilliant blue, the left one - under the biggest patch of grey - is yellow-green. She's beautiful, and friendly, and sweet, and loving. She has followed me around for two days now, where ever I roam on our property, although she doesn't like the long grass and she carefully picks her way through it. She came to us with a collar and a bell. I personally think a bell is the most undignified thing to do to a cat. It just screams 'coyote food'. She's obviously a housecat. She loves to be picked up and carried around. She is starved for love. She has fleas.
We have put up a sign at the corner store, so I hope we find her family. Another recent loiterer, Yellow Cat, is male and has taken quite an interest in her. I am quite sure he's very much unneutered, since he's a farm cat on the loose kind of character. I checked her over, and from what I can tell, she's not spayed, either. Dangit. We're going to have to do something about that if she's still hanging out waiting to be petted when we return home from Mexico. Just so that you can bask in her cuteness, I snapped a picture of her face when she tried to climb my leg the other day, check it out at the left there. I call her Scoop because she's pretty irresistable, and you just want to scoop her up and love on her when you meet her. Also, she seems like a small scoop of something sweet. So, Scoop.
We have put up a sign at the corner store, so I hope we find her family. Another recent loiterer, Yellow Cat, is male and has taken quite an interest in her. I am quite sure he's very much unneutered, since he's a farm cat on the loose kind of character. I checked her over, and from what I can tell, she's not spayed, either. Dangit. We're going to have to do something about that if she's still hanging out waiting to be petted when we return home from Mexico. Just so that you can bask in her cuteness, I snapped a picture of her face when she tried to climb my leg the other day, check it out at the left there. I call her Scoop because she's pretty irresistable, and you just want to scoop her up and love on her when you meet her. Also, she seems like a small scoop of something sweet. So, Scoop.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Wind Began to Switch
The house to pitch! A mighty wind has kicked up this evening on the Texas prairie! The long grass was wiggling and waving, the tree branches were being tossed about. This must be a cold front bringing more fall and winterlike weather... at least we'll be down to 70 degrees tomorrow, and 40 tomorrow night. Not exactly enough to make one shiver! But the wind is blowing tonight at 20 or 25 miles per hour. The weather service had this to say:
Gusty Winds Of 15 To 25 Mph Will Will Result In Extreme Fire Behavior As Vegetation Fuels Have Dried To The Point Of Becoming Cured For The Winter.
That's a fairly amusing away of putting it. I wonder if I'm cured for the winter?
Wind always makes things talk. Fences squeak, houses groan and whoosh, and trees tap and scrape buildings to make the most otherworldly noises. Last night the coyotes where whipped up in to a yapping, howling frenzy - tonight it is the wind's turn to howl.
I'm almost prepared for our trip, at work and at home. Tonight, by lucky chance, I ran into Bev at the fabric store and we picked out her very fabulous wedding dress fabric. I was just there to browse, very synchronistic. We found the perfect most dramatic stuff for her, and said our goodbyes. I'll see her on Friday night at her house in South Padre!
Gusty Winds Of 15 To 25 Mph Will Will Result In Extreme Fire Behavior As Vegetation Fuels Have Dried To The Point Of Becoming Cured For The Winter.
That's a fairly amusing away of putting it. I wonder if I'm cured for the winter?
Wind always makes things talk. Fences squeak, houses groan and whoosh, and trees tap and scrape buildings to make the most otherworldly noises. Last night the coyotes where whipped up in to a yapping, howling frenzy - tonight it is the wind's turn to howl.
I'm almost prepared for our trip, at work and at home. Tonight, by lucky chance, I ran into Bev at the fabric store and we picked out her very fabulous wedding dress fabric. I was just there to browse, very synchronistic. We found the perfect most dramatic stuff for her, and said our goodbyes. I'll see her on Friday night at her house in South Padre!
Freakwency
Ooof, I'm supposed to blogging more, and I haven't been. With the time shift, it seems so late all the time when I get home. I've been very busy babysitting, seeing MacBeth performed in the round (Bravo!), driving...
We did manage to visit Jonathan and Bev in South Padre Island, where we didn't get to spend enough time being beachy. The four of us spent a day in Mexico doing some paperwork for Charley, and having lunch with my Grandparents. We also had a day to spend just with my Grandparents, and we geeked out over postcards for most of the day and enjoyed all the delicious homestyle cooking at Chez Dittmer.
We're currently packing and preparing for a paddling trip down the Rio Guayalejo somwheres abouts Ciudad Mante and Valles, south of Ciudad Victoria at the tail end of Taumalipas (maybe even into San Louis Potosi, my favorite Mexican State?)We're travelling on Friday and I have a whole week off to enjoy life! There will be many pictures from that trip - hopefully even some butterflies! We won't be too far north of Gomez Farias, I think. I'm excited to put my fancy new PFD and gloves to use.
It has been dry here - as dry as it was wet this summer. The trees have dropped the majority of their leaves, with the pines and the live oaks the only hangers-on. The mesquites were slow to lose their greenery, too, but are mostly bare twiggy sculpures now. The grass that's allowed to grow is all waist-deep and golden, purple at the base. It waves and swishes around and adds to the warm feeling of desolate prairie I love so much. The landscape is stark and brown right now. There are a few flowers blooming in the yard - a small brown-eyed susan, a patch of some other yellow flower shaped similarly. Spiders abound - especially jumping spiders. There are still some grasshoppers, and on warmer, humid nights, a few gekos still gather on the screen. It's been weeks since we've seen toads, and no butterflies lately. I know a little rain would liven things up. We had a cold snap, and now, unseasonably warm temps - almost record setters. Mexico will be warmer during the day, and about the same as here at night. I'm curious to see what kind of vegetation is blooming and green down there, but they likely have had more rainfall recently, although we'll be dry all week. It's been pretty boring here at the casa, and we haven't worked on the house much - we only got the utility trenches as far along as we needed to hook up the internet in the house and set up the new computer!
Charley's headed to China about Christmas time - with the holidays and stuff, I'm not sure we'll get the hot water in the kitchen hooked up until spring! But we're comfortable and functional for now. The house is feeling much more lived in these days.
We did manage to visit Jonathan and Bev in South Padre Island, where we didn't get to spend enough time being beachy. The four of us spent a day in Mexico doing some paperwork for Charley, and having lunch with my Grandparents. We also had a day to spend just with my Grandparents, and we geeked out over postcards for most of the day and enjoyed all the delicious homestyle cooking at Chez Dittmer.
We're currently packing and preparing for a paddling trip down the Rio Guayalejo somwheres abouts Ciudad Mante and Valles, south of Ciudad Victoria at the tail end of Taumalipas (maybe even into San Louis Potosi, my favorite Mexican State?)We're travelling on Friday and I have a whole week off to enjoy life! There will be many pictures from that trip - hopefully even some butterflies! We won't be too far north of Gomez Farias, I think. I'm excited to put my fancy new PFD and gloves to use.
It has been dry here - as dry as it was wet this summer. The trees have dropped the majority of their leaves, with the pines and the live oaks the only hangers-on. The mesquites were slow to lose their greenery, too, but are mostly bare twiggy sculpures now. The grass that's allowed to grow is all waist-deep and golden, purple at the base. It waves and swishes around and adds to the warm feeling of desolate prairie I love so much. The landscape is stark and brown right now. There are a few flowers blooming in the yard - a small brown-eyed susan, a patch of some other yellow flower shaped similarly. Spiders abound - especially jumping spiders. There are still some grasshoppers, and on warmer, humid nights, a few gekos still gather on the screen. It's been weeks since we've seen toads, and no butterflies lately. I know a little rain would liven things up. We had a cold snap, and now, unseasonably warm temps - almost record setters. Mexico will be warmer during the day, and about the same as here at night. I'm curious to see what kind of vegetation is blooming and green down there, but they likely have had more rainfall recently, although we'll be dry all week. It's been pretty boring here at the casa, and we haven't worked on the house much - we only got the utility trenches as far along as we needed to hook up the internet in the house and set up the new computer!
Charley's headed to China about Christmas time - with the holidays and stuff, I'm not sure we'll get the hot water in the kitchen hooked up until spring! But we're comfortable and functional for now. The house is feeling much more lived in these days.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Hooray for Technology
Team Savvas is experiencing a sweeping, mass upgrade in technology! Add one new digital camera (early christmas present for the wifey) and one new computer (supa fast and large-screen enhanced) and one halloween party (cavers and ancillary Ian-and-Jessica-got-married party)and that means new pictures for the blog! And new photos on Flickr, too, so check out My Photos at the link to the left.
We've had beautiful weather, much cooler... and all the critters have gone into hiding or slowed down considerably. I had to poke at a grasshopper twice today to get it to hop. We had a small spell of rain, but it is very dry. Caldwell county has had a fire (small, eventually contained) once a day for the last several. The grass and the trees are all turning brown and leaves are crumbling to the ground. There is barely anything blooming except for some fleabane-looking flowers. The ground is hard as a rock. Luckily we were able to get the internet cable moved, and the lines for the propane to the kitchen in the ground before it got too hard to dig. I really enjoyed using the pickaxe for that. Most of my time lately has gone to setting up the new confuser and I have recently excavated my sewing machine from storage to put it to good use. I made all of Charley's "leather" accessories for his 300 costume! I have a few other Solstice gifty projects going, and have all but forgotten my embroidery by the wayside. All in good time... Well, enjoy the pictures! I can promise more blog entries in the near future with the ease of use of the new machinery (and, I've been handing out my new moo.com minicards with my blog address on it, so I am feeling the prods of the masses... er, of the few)
We've had beautiful weather, much cooler... and all the critters have gone into hiding or slowed down considerably. I had to poke at a grasshopper twice today to get it to hop. We had a small spell of rain, but it is very dry. Caldwell county has had a fire (small, eventually contained) once a day for the last several. The grass and the trees are all turning brown and leaves are crumbling to the ground. There is barely anything blooming except for some fleabane-looking flowers. The ground is hard as a rock. Luckily we were able to get the internet cable moved, and the lines for the propane to the kitchen in the ground before it got too hard to dig. I really enjoyed using the pickaxe for that. Most of my time lately has gone to setting up the new confuser and I have recently excavated my sewing machine from storage to put it to good use. I made all of Charley's "leather" accessories for his 300 costume! I have a few other Solstice gifty projects going, and have all but forgotten my embroidery by the wayside. All in good time... Well, enjoy the pictures! I can promise more blog entries in the near future with the ease of use of the new machinery (and, I've been handing out my new moo.com minicards with my blog address on it, so I am feeling the prods of the masses... er, of the few)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Lingering
Summer is lingering. It has been somewhat like high summer in Iowa here in Texas these last few days. The ground is drying out, even cracking in places. All of the weeds and prairie grasses are towering over my head. It is humid, warm, even hot in the middle of the day, and there's a drowsy buzzing that accompanies the sunset each night. The frogs start up their chorus and the fireflies flicker above all the greenness into the night. Now, I should mention that Texas doesn't really get fireflies. It's a new phenomenon, what with all the rain. It has warmed up a little again, and the humidity shrouds the rolling hills and leafy green trees each morning in a thick blanket of cottony fog. It gives the illusion that our house is an island, a secret Avalon, each morning as I walk Charley and his lunch cooler out to his truck to kiss him goodbye for the day. As he dissapears down the lane, I sometime imagine he's gone to the land of the humans!
I came home in the daylight today, a rare treat. I cooked a huge homey meal and we had John, our tenant, over for dinner. The guys were most excited about the warm fluffy biscuits, and I was most happy with the salad topped with a florette of cucumber and a crisp red pepper strip. Before they got home, while the potatoes were roasting, I walked around a little bit. My volunteer garden has gone kaput. There have been some really spectacular spider webs,by one Banana Spider I spotted, and some other plump, 25-cent-piece-sized arachnid, that have been put up in corners and across neglected paths. The Agalinis and the Parralena are still blooming, although the Agalinis is drooping. There are often little tiny sulfer butterflies at the base of the weeds. There is a 20% chance of rain tomorrow, and Autumn usually brings to us another rainy season. Who knows what it will bring us this year - it may continue to be unusual in weather patterns as the rain was to the height of summer.
We're headed to Connecticut on Friday, and I'm going to enjoy the 75 degree weather, although it is hard imagine right now what it will feel like to wear long sleeves. But if it is chilly, and I do get to wear long sleeves, you can bet I'll linger a bit longer than the others, outside in the Northeastern evening.
I came home in the daylight today, a rare treat. I cooked a huge homey meal and we had John, our tenant, over for dinner. The guys were most excited about the warm fluffy biscuits, and I was most happy with the salad topped with a florette of cucumber and a crisp red pepper strip. Before they got home, while the potatoes were roasting, I walked around a little bit. My volunteer garden has gone kaput. There have been some really spectacular spider webs,by one Banana Spider I spotted, and some other plump, 25-cent-piece-sized arachnid, that have been put up in corners and across neglected paths. The Agalinis and the Parralena are still blooming, although the Agalinis is drooping. There are often little tiny sulfer butterflies at the base of the weeds. There is a 20% chance of rain tomorrow, and Autumn usually brings to us another rainy season. Who knows what it will bring us this year - it may continue to be unusual in weather patterns as the rain was to the height of summer.
We're headed to Connecticut on Friday, and I'm going to enjoy the 75 degree weather, although it is hard imagine right now what it will feel like to wear long sleeves. But if it is chilly, and I do get to wear long sleeves, you can bet I'll linger a bit longer than the others, outside in the Northeastern evening.
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